THE NBOA

From the website of the National Ballroom & Entertainment Association:

On March 7, 1938, a group of Iowa ballroom operators gathered to work out some mutual problems. This was the formation of the Iowa Ballroom Operators Association. At a meeting on July 14, 1941, it was decided to enlarge and become the Midwest Ballroom Operators Association (MBOA). At the annual convention of the MBOA held in Chicago in 1947, the name was changed to the National Ballroom Operators Association (NBOA) because membership had expanded from coast to coast. The current name of National Ballroom & Entertainment Association was made in the 1970s to reflect the more comprehensive nature of the association.

Wikipedia says that “Member owners and operators of ballrooms used the association to lobby the government for tax considerations and to bargain with labor unions.”

At their annual conventions, they elected officers and held polls of popularity of music stars.

The Minnesota bands I found with citations are:

In 1962, the Minnesota band the Embers were presented with a citation for being “an outstanding band and a credit to the industry.”  Members of the Embers were Doug Spartz, Jack Penniston, Eugene Jurek, Mick Shaw, and Mike McKenzie.

In 1966, the NBOA awarded citations to the Castaways, the Hot Half Dozen, Michael’s Mystics, and the Underbeats for being outstanding, neat and danceable bands.

In 1967, The Society was cited by the NBOA the “outstanding, neat and danceable band.”

In 1974 the organization changed its name to the National Ballroom and Entertainment  Association.